‘Allegations Against Myung Taekyun Polling’: Opposition to Indictment…”No Evidence or Substance”
Ahead of Next Year’s Local Elections, “Will Not Be Affected…Minimizing Administrative Vacancies”,
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Jaeha and Jung Suyeon = Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was brought to trial in what is known as the “Myung Taekyun Polling Allegations,” strongly opposed the indictment, calling it a “special prosecution targeting Oh Se-hoon instigated by the Democratic Party.”
Mayor Oh issued a statement on the 1st in response to his indictment by the special prosecutor’s team led by Min Joonggi on charges of violating the Political Funds Act. He claimed, “The special prosecutor has abandoned law and conscience today, pursuing a predetermined indictment as per the Democratic Party’s directive,” adding, “They concluded the indictment based solely on the lies of swindler Myung Taekyun, with no evidence or substance, and pieced together reasons for an indictment that’s difficult to uphold.”
He continued, “After investigating for a year and two months and forensically analyzing my eight phones, they did not find a single piece of direct evidence. This is an unreasonable, fabricated indictment without a single piece of proper evidence, and an indictment destined to result in acquittal.”
Mayor Oh stated, “Myung Taekyun himself said, ‘Watch how I entangle Oh Se-hoon,'” asserting that “this shows the Democratic Party and Myung Taekyun are united with the special prosecutor to bring down Oh Se-hoon.”
He further added, “Most of Myung Taekyun’s polls were completely fabricated, leading to a fraud charge against him, and the special prosecutor’s investigation yielded nothing, which speaks volumes.”
Mayor Oh criticized, “The public suspicion of a ‘political special prosecution against Oh Se-hoon’ is now a reality. The judicial authority in Korea has turned into a tool for purging political adversaries.”
He emphasized, “It will soon become clear that this special prosecutor’s indictment is merely a ‘contributory indictment’ for the Lee Jae-myung administration and a ‘political scheme.’ There is no statute of limitations on the judgment of history. This ruthless violence and oppression will undoubtedly be judged, and those responsible will be held accountable.”
During a meeting with reporters at City Hall on the same day, Mayor Oh expressed, “I can’t accept this indictment at all, and it is outrageous. It was confirmed during the prosecution investigation that the 13 non-public opinion polls Myung claimed to have provided were fake, inflated, and exaggerated from start to finish.”
He also questioned the investigation, stating, “Myung has claimed six public and 13 non-public polls, but the special prosecution’s indictment mentions three public and seven non-public polls, which doesn’t logically add up, so they left some out of the indictment because it was embarrassing to explain.”
When asked if the indictment would be a political burden ahead of the June local elections next year, Mayor Oh responded, “I will not be affected by this attempt to bring me down.”
Concerning concerns that the ongoing trial might create administrative vacancies, he said, “The case is not so complex, and the investigation has been scheduled on Saturdays to prevent it from impacting work, so I will minimize any possible effects.”
Mayor Oh is accused of requesting polls from Myung ahead of the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election in January to February 2021 and having businessperson Kim Han-jung, known as a long-time supporter, cover the costs of the polls, totaling 33 million won, in five installments in exchange for receiving results from ten announced and unannounced polls.
On the other hand, Mayor Oh has consistently denied requesting polls from Myung or receiving any results, refuting any involvement. This is the first time Mayor Oh has been brought to trial on a criminal charge.